By ZISANDA NKONKOBE
A development in headache prevention is a headband called the Cefaly.
According to medical director of The Headache Clinic Dr Elliot Shevel, the Cefaly uses mild electric pulses to reduce the pain impulses going to the brain.
On its official website, the headband is explained as a cranial analgesic electro-therapeutic device.
The headband generates precise micro-impulses to stimulate the nerve endings of the trigeminal nerve, which ultimately produces a relaxing effect.
Regular repetition of this relaxing effect is said to help reduce the number of attacks of headaches and migraine.
In an article in The Daily Telegraph, a UK-based mother and daughter told of how the headband saved their lives by healing their chronic pain.
The mother said the headaches felt like “someone had put her head in a vice” and she reported seeing flashing lights.
She would be totally exhausted afterwards and need a day or two to recover.
Now 67 and retired, the woman said the pain medication prescribed by her doctor was discontinued, which is when she heard about the headband.
“I was a bit sceptical at first,” she said, “but it turned out to be brilliant.
“I have only had one migraine since I started using it. I can eat all the things that used to set me off, too.
“I’d read that it can make you look younger, which I didn’t care about really, but actually it does – because you’re no longer crunching your face up from all the migraines.”
The mother shared the band with her daughter, who also suffered with migraine, which is thought to have a genetic link running in their family.
The band, which has been available for years, reportedly got a major boost in 2014 when it was approved by the US health regulator the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
Nice, the UK regulator, has now also given the Cefaly a thumbs-up.
A study on the effectiveness of the headband found 40% of sufferers found relief.
Another study also found that it allows sufferers to significantly reduce the amount of medication they are taking for their headache.
But despite the evidence which proves how the headband has assisted people, Shevel said it does not eliminate the causes of the headache.
He added: “I am not certain, but to my knowledge it is only available in the US and one definitely needs a doctor’s prescription to get one.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Development in migraine treatment
A development in headache prevention is a headband called the Cefaly.
According to medical director of The Headache Clinic Dr Elliot Shevel, the Cefaly uses mild electric pulses to reduce the pain impulses going to the brain.
On its official website, the headband is explained as a cranial analgesic electro-therapeutic device.
The headband generates precise micro-impulses to stimulate the nerve endings of the trigeminal nerve, which ultimately produces a relaxing effect.
Regular repetition of this relaxing effect is said to help reduce the number of attacks of headaches and migraine.
In an article in The Daily Telegraph, a UK-based mother and daughter told of how the headband saved their lives by healing their chronic pain.
The mother said the headaches felt like “someone had put her head in a vice” and she reported seeing flashing lights.
She would be totally exhausted afterwards and need a day or two to recover.
Now 67 and retired, the woman said the pain medication prescribed by her doctor was discontinued, which is when she heard about the headband.
“I was a bit sceptical at first,” she said, “but it turned out to be brilliant.
“I have only had one migraine since I started using it. I can eat all the things that used to set me off, too.
“I’d read that it can make you look younger, which I didn’t care about really, but actually it does – because you’re no longer crunching your face up from all the migraines.”
The mother shared the band with her daughter, who also suffered with migraine, which is thought to have a genetic link running in their family.
The band, which has been available for years, reportedly got a major boost in 2014 when it was approved by the US health regulator the Federal Drug Administration (FDA).
Nice, the UK regulator, has now also given the Cefaly a thumbs-up.
A study on the effectiveness of the headband found 40% of sufferers found relief.
Another study also found that it allows sufferers to significantly reduce the amount of medication they are taking for their headache.
But despite the evidence which proves how the headband has assisted people, Shevel said it does not eliminate the causes of the headache.
He added: “I am not certain, but to my knowledge it is only available in the US and one definitely needs a doctor’s prescription to get one.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
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